


Ready or Not (I'm Coming)

by Val_Brown



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), David Cook (Musician), Kris Allen (Musician), Tommy Ratliff (Musician)
Genre: AU, M/M, Minor Character Death, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-09
Updated: 2011-05-09
Packaged: 2017-10-19 05:02:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/197186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Val_Brown/pseuds/Val_Brown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kris and Tommy are the heads of mafia families running the city Of Los Angeles. A Rival boss wants their territory and will do anything to get it, including taking their family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ready or Not (I'm Coming)

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by Thrace_Adams on Live Journal and Banner by Creativmind1282. This was written for Jojobananaface's(on LJ) birthday. Sooooo.... yeah Title is the title of an Oomph song...

[   
](http://s783.photobucket.com/albums/yy115/Valress/?action=view&current=289231652.jpg)

 

Ratliff House Friday September 23rd 2011, 7:30pm

 

“What do you mean she’s gone, Carp?” Tommy snarled as he whipped his head towards the door and the terrified man cowering at the look in his eyes.

 

“Sir, Archie and I went to pick Julia up at the University and she wasn’t there. Her room was empty.” Carp said as he tucked his hands nervously in the pockets of his leather jacket.

 

“Was there anything that seemed out of place?” Tommy asked as he paced behind his desk, papers fluttering as he moved rapidly back and forth.

 

“Just this note,” Carp said as he stepped closer to Tommy and pulled a piece of folded paper from his jacket pocket.

 

Grabbing the paper, Tommy read what was written on it.

 

 _Sorry bro, I need some time alone. Will call you next week._

“No way she wrote this fucking note. No fucking way,” he growled angrily, looking up at Isaac. “This is bad, Carp, this is really bad,” Tommy said as he let the paper fall to the desk. “Call Kris, get Giraud and Pittman in here. I need you and Archie to make sure this stays quiet, this will not end well. I promise that I’m gonna find who did this to her and make them wish they’d never been born.”

 

“Alright boss,” Carp said as he turned to leave the room. Turning back and resting his hand on the bookshelf, Carp ran a hand through his short brown hair. “She’ll be okay.”

 

“She better be, or else there will be blood,” Tommy growled as he sat back in his chair and remembered the promise he and Kris had made to each other all those years ago.

 

~~~~~~~~

February 1994

 

“Tommy Joe, this is Kristopher,” A soft voice said from the doorway. “He’s going to be your new roommate. Could you introduce him to the others?”

 

“Sure Miss Sasha, Hi Kristopher,” Tommy said as he slid off the bottom bunk and walked over to the smaller boy. Tommy had to admit the boy was kinda cute, with light brown hair and pretty hazel brown eyes. “Welcome to Heart House. Why are you here?”

 

"Um, you can call me Kris.  My –" his voice started to break and he closed his eyes taking a deep breath.  "My parents died in a car accident and my Uncle Simon didn't want to take care of me, so here I am," Kris finished softly, looking over at Tommy.

 

"Oh man, that sucks," Tommy replied roughly.  "I'm here with my sister," he paused, clenching his fists at his side.  "We're here because these guys, they –" his voice shook with rage.  "They killed our parents."

 

Kris stared at him, his eyes wide and alarmed.  Tommy shook his head, trying to regain his control.  "It's in the past.  Let me show you around, introduce you to the others."

 

Tommy spent the day leading Kris around the house introducing him to the other kids, Michael and Danny, step brothers who had pretty much grown up at the house, because their parents were always in trouble with the cops. Katy who was there because her mother was in prison for killing her father, and Anoop who was there because his parents just left him at a church when he was eight.  Cale and David were brothers who’s parents just disappeared one day, and the state gave them to Sasha to take care of. Monte was the oldest of the kids at sixteen, he never talked about his past, he just sat in his chair on the porch noodling on his guitar and keeping an eye on the younger kids. Matt, Isaac, Camilla and Archie were always together, no one really knew where Archie came from he just appeared one day and Camilla decided he was her new brother, taking him everywhere. Matt and Isaac weren’t brothers, but had known each other since they were babies, both of their parents had been killed the same day and they ended up at Heart House.

 

“And that little pain over there,” Tommy said pointing to a small blond girl coloring with Archie, he smiled softly. “That’s my baby sister Julia.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

September 1999

 

“Tommy, you age out next month. What are you gonna do?” Kris asked as they sat on the back porch watching the younger kids play.

 

“I’m gonna move in with Monte. He said he has an extra room,” Tommy said as he watched Julia run after Archie laughing. “I’m gonna make sure I have a job and can take care of Julia and Archie so they can live with me. Promise you’ll watch after them until I come back?”

 

“Of course, Tom, they’re my family too,” Kris said as he bumped Tommy’s shoulder with his. “You know, one day we can own this town.”

 

“One day Kris, we will. Me and you together we will take this back from Fuller, we will be the ones to fear. I’m pretty sure he is the one that had my parents killed, I want my revenge.”

 

“One day, we will Tommy, together. Always?”

 

“Of course, we’re brothers Kris, together till the end, I promise.”

 

 

~~~~~~~~

Allen House, Friday September 23rd 2011, 7:30pm

 

 

“Kristopher, we can’t find her,” A tall man said as he entered the office.

 

“What do you mean you can’t find her? She was with Sarver and Gokey, how can you fucking lose her?” Kris said as he whipped around, knocking a stack of books from his desk. The man stepped further into the room and reached down to pick the books up from the floor. Placing them back on the desk, he turned and looked over at Kris who was running his hands through his hair. Tucking his tie back inside his jacket, he walked over to Kris and placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“They’re gone too. There is no trace of them. You know they’ll protect her with their lives, Kris.”

 

“I fucking know this, Anoop. I don’t want any of them dead. Who did this?”

 

Anoop looked down at Kris and sighed. “We don’t know, but it looks like it could be Seacrest.”

 

“Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!” Kris said as he ran his hands through his hair as he paced the room. He glanced at Anoop as he heard the other man’s phone ring.

 

“Hey Carp, it’s not a good ti… What?” Anoop said as his face lost color. “Julia… Fuck! I’ll have Kris call Tommy.”

 

“Noop, what’s going on? What about Julia?” Kris asked as he reached for his phone.

 

“She’s gone too, just disappeared from her dorm room.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday September 24th 2011, 10 am

 

He stood with his back to the window, twirling a long black feather between his fingers. He looked over at the body sitting in the chair, breathing coming out in ragged gasps, blood dripping from a twice broken nose. Every sound echoed in the empty room, every breath, every drop of blood seemed louder.

 

“Are you going to tell me who sent you?” The man asked as he took a step closer to the chair, the feather catching the soft light from the hanging light bulb, shining softly against pale hands.

 

“Fuck you, Raven!” The man in the chair rasped out as he spit a mouthful of blood to the floor.

 

“Fine… I tried to make it easy,” Raven said as he reached over and set the feather down on a small table and picked up a small pair of pliers. Turning them over in his hands, he caught the look the other man gave them. Opening them and closing them, he smiled. “You wanna tell me yet?”

 

“Please…”

 

“Please what Rickey? You know I’m not gonna let you go, why don’t you just tell me what I want to know and I’ll end this quickly,” Raven said as he held the pliers up to his face, inspecting them.

 

“Seacrest, he wants control of everything in the West. He wanted to know how to break Allen and Ratliff, I told him.”

 

“Oh and how exactly is that?”

 

“Taking the things that mean the most to them. Ratliff’s little sister and Allen’s best friend.”

 

“Hmm, very clever of him. He forgot one thing though.”

 

“What?”

 

“By taking from Allen, he just pissed off Cowboy. Thank you Rickey, it’s time.”

 

Raven picked up his Glock and pressed it to Rickey’s forehead. “Goodbye Rickey.”

 

A loud crack exploded through the room.

 

A single black feather fell to Rickey’s lap as the door shut quietly.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ratliff House 10 am

 

“Tommy? Kristopher is on the phone,” A small man said as he pushed the door open.

 

“Thank you Archie, go see Carp. He has a job for you.” Tommy said as he reached for his phone and nodded. “Kris?”

 

“Tommy? Is it true? Is Julia missing too?”

 

“Too? Kris? What do you mean by too? Are you missing someone?”

 

“Katy, Gokey and Sarver. Someone took all of them.”

 

“Fuck, Kris this is really bad. Who the fuck do you think did this?”

 

“Honestly the only person I can think of is Ryan; he was pretty pissed when we took the West Coast.”

 

“Fuck, that’s what I was afraid of. Kris, he took my baby sister. I’m going to fucking kill him.”

 

“I’m right there with you bro, we’ll get them back. Then we’ll take him apart.”

 

“Piece by fucking piece.”

 

~~~~~~~~~

Saturday September 24th  2011, 5:30 pm

 

“Hello Julia,” a voice said softly, as hands landed on her shoulders. Grunting, Julia tried to pull her shoulders out of the grip, but being cuffed and sitting in a chair made any movement difficult. “You should know your brother is tearing the city apart looking for you.”

 

Unable to say anything, Julia settled for glaring at the man in front of her. He wasn’t very large, maybe five foot six, a bit on the wiry side, he looked like a Ken doll, only shorter. The only intimidating thing about him was the Beretta strapped to his hip.

 

“You know who I am don’t you?” the man asked as he ran a finger across her cheek. Just nodding Julia kept the tears inside, she didn’t want him to see her break. It was what he wanted. Fortunately, a sudden loud noise outside the room distracted him. The door opened and the noise got louder.

 

“Boss, we got her, but we have an issue.”

 

“What’s the issue?”

 

“Her bodyguards. We had to grab them too.”

 

“Fuck, well bring them all in here.”

 

The door opened wider to reveal six huge men dragging two very angry looking men and one small equally angry blond woman. Both men were growling, the smaller of the two men had a rapidly growing black eye, his hazel eyes pinned on the blond woman, who was cursing the men that held her. The larger man stayed silent, but his blue eyes promised a swift death to anyone that turned their back on him.  As soon as they set the woman down she threw their arms off her and rushed around the large desk to get to where Julia was.

 

“Julia? Oh my god! Baby girl are you alright?” She asked as she started to pull the tape from Julia’s mouth.

 

“What are you doing?” Ryan growled as he reached out to stop the blond from pulling the tape from Julia’s mouth.

 

“Fuck off Ryan!” Julia rasped out as the woman pulled the tape from her mouth. “Katy?”

 

“Hey kiddo. God, your brother and Kris are gonna be so pissed,” Katy said as she pulled Julia into an awkward hug. Looking over her shoulder at the two men dragged in with her, Katy smiled sadly. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“Katy…” The large blond man said as he tried to take a step forward, only to be stopped with a gun to his face, he narrowed his blue eyes glaring at the man with the gun.

 

“I know Mike, but still, I’m sorry to both of you,” Katy said as she knelt next to Julia, and glared up at Ryan.

 

Growling, Ryan walked over and grabbed for the ropes tying Julia to the chair, untying her and  pulling her to her feet.

 

“Come on, I have plans for you,” Ryan said as he dragged Julia towards the door, looking back at his guards he snarled and pointed at Katy. “Make sure they stay right here, I’ll be back for her.”

 

“No! Julia!!” Gokey yelled as he broke free of the men holding his arms and rushed for the door.

 

 _“Danny!!”_  Julia heard Katy scream as a gunshot sounded and the door slammed shut behind them.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Julia couldn’t see anything. She could only hear the soft footfalls of someone else in the room. Her breath came faster as she felt a finger slide along her cheek.

 

“Ahh, Julia Ratliff, the only thing in this world that will break Thomas. I wonder what it will take to break you.” A man’s voice, breathed hot against her ear.

 

“Fuck you,” Julia spat out, she couldn’t see who it was but she didn’t want him to see that she was already breaking.

 

“Oh you have some fire. It will be fun breaking you. Now, how should I start?”

 

Julia’s voice broke as the first cuts were made across her back. Her screams echoed throughout the room, accompanied by a soft laugh.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday September 25th   2011, 8 am

 

Tommy sat in his chair, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him. All he could hear was Julia’s screams, her cries begging them to stop, begging Tommy to save her. He couldn’t stop the tears, he never cried, not when their parents were killed, not when he watched his best friend Dave get shot, never. Yet here he was, , crying because his little sister was hurting and there was nothing he could do. Angrily, he put his fist through the screen and then jumped to his feet, swiping his good hand over his face.

 

“Giraud!!”

 

“Sir?” A large man called from somewhere out in the hallway.

 

“Get in here! I need your help.”

 

“Yeah boss?” Giraud said as he pushed the door open. Seeing Tommy bleeding, he raced over to him, his fedora hitting the floor in his haste. He grabbed at Tommy’s bleeding hand. “Shit! Your hand!”

 

“Don’t worry about that, I need you to find The Raven,” Tommy said as he tried to pull his hand back only to realize it was futile and let Matt pull him toward a chair. He sat down while Matt rummaged around in search of the first aid kit.

 

“The Raven?” Matt asked as he knelt in front of Tommy and began pulling the small glass pieces from his hand and cleaning the wound.

 

“Yeah, talk to Monte, he knows who I’m talking about, and get me Kris on the phone.” Tommy said as he watched Matt wrap gauze around his knuckles.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

He walked into the darkened room, smiling as he saw the flash. “Cowboy.”

 

“Raven, it’s been a while.” A rough voice replied.

 

“It has. It’s unfortunate that we are brought together like this,” Raven said as he flipped the light on, bathing the room in light, showing him the man sitting in a chair, a Colt.45 sitting on the table next to him. “I got a call from Monte today. Ratliff wants my help finding his sister. It seems this involves you too.”

 

“Is it Kris? Is he okay?” Cowboy asked his voice wavering slightly. Raven knew they had a history, knew that was a part of Cowboy’s past he wasn’t likely to forget.

 

“He’s fine, but Seacrest took Katy,” Raven said as he moved further into the room.

 

“Okay, what are we going to do about it? We can’t exactly go in like I usually do,” Cowboy said as he gestured to the empty chair across from him.

 

“Oh you mean guns blazing?” Raven said, the smirk evident in his voice, as he sat in the chair across from his friend.

 

“Fuck off. You know what I mean. How are we going to do this? Allen doesn’t know I’m alive, I am pretty sure he’s gonna flip when he sees me.” Cowboy said softly as he looked down at his hands. “Have you seen him?”

 

“Probably, you are supposed to be dead. I’ve seen him, he looks good, sad, but good.”

 

“Thanks asshole,” Cowboy said laughing lightly, relief that Kris was okay evident in his voice.

 

“Anytime bro, anytime. Now… what do we do about Seacrest?”

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Sunday September 25th   2011, 3pm

 

“Danny, don’t you go to sleep,” Katy demanded softly as she pressed Michael’s shirt over the bullet wound in Danny’s chest.

 

“Come on Katy, I’m not gonna die. It’s barely a scratch,” Danny said roughly as he wheezed out a sharp laugh. He knew it was much worse than he was saying. Breathing was getting hard, he could feel his lungs struggling to expand. Looking over at Michael, Danny nodded once and closed his eyes taking a deep breath. “Katy, I’m so sorry.”

 

“No, Danny. You aren’t sorry for anything, because you aren’t going anywhere,” Katy said softly, tears finally breaking free and running down her face.

 

The door slammed open and they all turned to face the thugs standing in the open doorway.

 

“Boss says to bring her,”

 

“Mike, don’t. Just stay with Danny okay?” Katy said as she put a hand on Michael’s arm and stood up. Walking over to the two men by the door she looked back and smiled softly at Michael and Danny. “Take care of him Mike, and tell Kris I always loved him okay?”

 

“You better bring your tiny ass back, you understand, Katy?” Michael said as he put his hand on the shirt against Danny’s chest. “Just come back and be a pain in the ass, okay?”

 

“I’ll always be a pain in your ass, Mikey,” Katy said as she was shoved out the door.

 

Turning back to Danny, Michael smiled tightly. “So buddy, when we get out of here you wanna get a beer?”

 

“How about four and you got a deal.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday September 25th   2011, 6:30 pm

 

“Hey darlings, what brings you in tonight?” the beautiful woman sitting at the bar asked as Tommy and Kris walked inside the club.

 

“Raja, we need to talk,” Tommy said softly as he reached out a hand and rested it on her arm.

 

Looking at both men, she smiled and nodded, leading them to a small office.  Sitting at the desk she looked at both of them. “Alright, what’s going on? You both look like someone died.”

 

“Seacrest, he took Julia, Katy, Sarver and Gokey,” Kris said as he paced the small room, running his hands through his hair angrily. Stopping he looked at Tommy tears in his eyes, then back at Raja. “We need help.”

 

“I can put in a few calls. Have you contacted The Raven? He used to work alone, but recently he has been working with Cowboy.” Raja asked as she picked up her phone.

 

“I had Monte contact him him. I’ve heard of Cowboy, who is he?” Tommy said as he sat back, fingers drumming his thighs. He looked over at Kris who had looked up suddenly at the mention of Cowboy.

 

“He just showed up one day about two years ago. I heard he took out Cowell and all of his goons alone,” Raja said as she slipped her shoes off and looked over at Kris who had stopped pacing and was just staring at her. “Apparently they call him Cowboy because he only uses a Colt.45 and leaves the shell casing behind with the body.”

 

“Are the shells stamped?” Kris asked softly.

 

“Yeah, how did you know?” Raja asked as she stood up and walked over to Kris. Looking down at the smaller man, she smiled softly. “You know who Cowboy is, don’t you?”

 

“He’s supposed to be dead. I watched him die,” Kris whispered to no one. “Cowell shot him, I held him in my arms as he died.”

 

Looking at Tommy, Raja didn’t say anything but gave him a look that asked what Kris was talking about.

 

“Kris, what are you talking about?” Tommy asked as he stood up and walked over to where Raja and Kris were standing.

 

“Cowboy, Tommy, its David, it has to be. I know it. He is the only person that used stamped shells, it has to be him!” Kris said his voice rising, his eyes wild. “It’s David, he’s alive.”

 

“Kris, come on bro, you should sit down. Let me talk to Raja, and you can get a drink okay?” Tommy said softly as he pulled Kris over to the small couch against the wall. “Raja, baby, can you pour Kris a drink?”

 

“Of course, scotch?”

 

“Yeah that’s fine,” Tommy said as he turned back to Kris. “Hey, look at me. We need to focus, we have to get the girls back. Focus on them first then we can deal with this David thing okay?”

 

Nodding Kris took the drink Raja offered him and smiled. “I’ll be here, you two go talk.” He watched them walk out of the room and sat back against the couch.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Three years ago

 

“David, please,” Kris whispered his hands reaching, grabbing in the dark.

 

“Shh, baby, I got you,” David said against Kris’ thigh, his fingers sliding over the soft skin behind Kris’ balls, teasing his hole before pushing one in slowly drawing out the moan that Kris let slip. “Come on baby, that’s it, open up for me.”

 

“Don’t… please don’t tease me. Need… you… please,”

 

Smirking, David pressed a kiss to Kris’ thigh and slipped another finger inside, relishing the drag of skin on skin, the clench of Kris around his fingers. Pulling his fingers out, he teased the rim before sliding back in with three curling them slightly brushing against the small knot of nerves as he pulled them out.

 

“More, please, need you inside,” Kris gasped out as David started opening the condom. Lifting his head slightly he watched through hooded eyes as David rolled the condom on and slicked himself with lube. Grabbing his knees, Kris pulled them back against his chest, and David nudged up behind his balls, pressing against his hole. Kris’ breath hitched as David slid inside him slowly until their hips were pressed together.

 

Moving slowly, David leaned down to press his lips to Kris’. _“I love you”_

 

~~~~~~~

 

“Look David, I’m just saying I don’t trust Simon. At least let me go with you, I’ll stay back and keep quiet,” Kris said as he tied David’s tie and reached for the shoulder holster David never left home without.

 

“Kris…”

 

“Look, Davy, you and I both know he is gonna follow your round ass out that door whether you say yes or not,” A voice piped up from the doorway.

 

“Katherine, you are not helping,” David said as he glared at her over his shoulder.

 

“I know cupcake, but I also know that you and I will agree that the safest thing is for him to go with you instead of sneaking out after you,” Katy said as she walked over and grabbed David’s jacket helping him slide it on while he glared at her.

 

“Fine, but Kris you better be strapped. I refuse to let you go with me if you aren’t carrying,” David said as he turned and looked at Kris. “Put on the grey suit, with the shoulder holster, the jacket should cover it.”

 

“Fine,” Kris said as he walked to the closet and grabbed his suit. Walking out he saw David sliding his gun into the holster.

 

“Get dressed baby, I’ll help you with the holster,” David said as he nodded and waved Katy out the door.

 

“Both of you be careful please, and David, don’t call me Katherine,” She said as she flipped him off and slipped from the room.

 

“Fine Katy, just don’t call me Davy, and we’ll be fine. I promise.”

 

~~~~~

3 hours later

 

“Mr. Cook, why are you even arguing this with me? You and I both know that I can just take it from you, instead I am offering to buy it, and at a very fair price, if I do say so myself.” The man said as he moved around the desk, getting closer to Kris, his eyes never leaving the small man.

 

“Simon, I am not going to sell you Kris. He isn’t a thing, and you can’t have him,” David said as he reached under his jacket for his gun, crossing to stand between Simon and Kris. “You’ll have to go through me first.”

 

“I can and I will,” Simon said as he pulled his own weapon pointing it at David and pulling the trigger.

 

“Kris, RUN!” David said as he pulled his own gun, before hitting his knees. Turning back towards Simon, David fired a shot hitting the older man in the leg. He watched as Simon’s bodyguards grabbed him and pulled him to his feet.

 

“I’ll take him David, you know it and I know it. Your boy will be mine!” Simon yelled as his goons dragged him out the door.

 

 Falling forward David put a hand out to catch himself. “No he won’t Simon, you’ll die first.” He gasped out.

 

“David? Oh my god,” Kris said as he came running over to where David was kneeling. “Fuck, you’re hit.”

 

“Baby, look at me,” David said as he felt Kris pull him close. Closing his eyes, he felt his chest get tight as he tried to breathe. “Promise me you won’t go after Cowell, he’ll be taken care of, I promise.”

 

“Of course he will David, you are gonna get better and take his ass out,” Kris said as the tears slid down his face, his hands pressing against the hole in David’s chest. “You can’t leave me Dave, please don’t leave me.”

 

“Shh, don’t cry Kris,” David said as he wheezed for breath, “I love you.”

 

“I love you too, so much,” Kris said as David stopped breathing. Curling over his body, Kris broke down as Danny and Michael came running into the room. “Damn it David, you promised you would never leave me.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Present Day

 “Okay Tommy, what’s going on?” Raja said as she sat at the small vanity and began removing her makeup.

 

“Seacrest took the girls, we need to get them back. He hired Mayer, I had a video emailed to me this morning.”

 

“What was on the video, baby?”

 

“It was Julia, Mayer was hurting her, cutting her, she was crying, begging him to stop. Begging for me to help her. Raja… help me get her back.” Tommy said as his voice broke and the tears started flowing freely down his cheeks. Raja was the only person he would ever break in front of.

 

“Tommy Joe, look at me. How do you want me to help you?”

 

Tommy swiped at the tears on his face and looked up at her, his eyes full of anger and pain. “Anything, just help me get her back.”

 

Raja stared at him, studying his face, his eyes. “I can make some calls, but you have to promise me you won’t go after Seacrest on your own. Let me do this, I know Raven, I can get him in on this, but there is a good chance he already knows and plans on getting involved.”

 

“I had Monte trying to get in touch with him, but why would he even want to help me?”

 

“He hates Seacrest, it’s a very long story but the short version is that Seacrest killed his lover in front of him, and the only reason Raven is alive is pure luck.”

 

Before Raja could pick up her phone, Tommy’s cell rang. Answering it, Tommy looked at Raja and just nodded.

 

“Yes?” Tommy said.

 

“Tommy Joe? It’s Raven. Your associate got in contact with me. You need my services?”

 

“Yes, I do. Though I am surprised he was able to get in touch with you so quickly.” Tommy said mouthing to Raja that it was Raven. Raja nodded and sat back just watching Tommy.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 18 months ago

 

“You need to understand Leo, Raja doesn’t want you around. If you don’t leave her and her club alone you will force both Kris and I to do something drastic,” Tommy said as he leaned on the bar top, dragging his finger lazily over the surface, glancing at Raja then staring at Leo.

 

“Really, Ratliff, and what’s drastic?” Leo said as he took a step closer to Raja. Before he could take another step, Kris was right next to him, the barrel of a 9mm pressed to his neck. Looking over at Kris, Leo could also see Danny and Mike standing behind him and just to the left of them was Monte and Matt. Swallowing Leo put his hands up, and looked over at Tommy. “Fine, I’m gone. Just tell Allen to back off.”

 

“Kris,” Tommy said as he nodded. Slipping his gun back into his holster, Kris took a step back. “Leave Leo, if I ever find out that you came back, I’ll shoot you myself, got it?”

 

“Yeah, I got it,” Leo said as he left, the door slamming behind him.

 

Turning to face Raja, Tommy smiled and sat back on the stool. “You gonna be okay, darling?”

 

“I am now. Thank you all so much,” Raja said as she stood up and walked over to where Tommy was sitting. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss of gratitude to his lips.

 

 

~~~~~~~~

Monday September 26th 2011 9 am

 

Raven looked over at the small blond man across the desk. Hard to believe that this unassuming man was the infamous Tommy Ratliff, Raven had heard about him. Not afraid to get his hands dirty, howhe and Allen had taken nearly all of Los Angeles from Fuller in less than a year. Raven had to admit, he was impressed, Cowboy was right though, he needed to stay on his toes, this kid was everything he was drawn to all wrapped in one pretty package.

 

“So, tell me what you need from me,” Raven said as he sat back in his chair, watching Tommy pace the floor behind his desk.

 

“We need your help getting our people back,” Tommy said as he paused and stared out the window.

 

“Okay, so do you want me to kill Ryan? Or is this a rescue thing?”

 

“We just want our people back. Ryan will get his, I’ll make sure of it.” Tommy said as he turned and pinned Raven with angry eyes. He had heard rumors about Tommy’s temper. He wasn’t out of control, but if one of his family was hurt in anyway, he would seek retribution.  There was only one story out there about Tommy’s vengeance, it was enough proof to anyone out there that he did not bluff, Mario had learned that the hard way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 year ago

 

“What the hell?” the man said as he stumbled into the darkened room. Turning to the door, he watched it close quickly, the men on the other side not looking back into the room. “What the fuck is going on here?”

 

“Oh Mario, you don’t know?” A voice said from the shadows.

 

Stiffening, Mario stood still, almost hoping he wouldn’t be seen. “Who’s there?”

 

“Come on, you can’t pretend you don’t know. You know exactly why you’re here,” The voice said, this time closer than before.

 

“Look, it was just a misunderstanding. I never meant anything by it,” he said slowly backing toward where he thought the door was.

 

“Never meant anything… it was a misunderstanding…” The voice said absently as it moved around the room. “So Raja misunderstood your fist in her face? Or your fist stuttered and accidentally busted her lip?”

 

“No, I…”

 

“Enough! Just put him in the chair, I’m tired of this shit,” A new voice said as a light flicked on, bathing the room in a soft glow. Looking to his left Mario felt his heart stutter and his stomach drop to his feet, he was so fucked. He felt hands grab his arms and force him down in to a wooden chair.

 

“So, give me a good reason why I shouldn’t put a bullet in your head right now.”

 

“I… I was… Look, I was stupid. I know that, and I’m sorry. Please…”

 

“Oh my god, Tommy, he’s begging already,” the first voice said with a chuckle as it came up behind him and pressed a hand to his shoulder.

 

“Mario, Mario. That is no excuse; now want me to tell you what she said happened?” Tommy said as he rounded the chair, stopping in front of Mario, and leaned back against his desk. “I walked into her apartment after she called me frantic and crying. She’s sitting on her couch, bleeding. You made her bleed, Mario, that right there is enough to get you a bullet, but it was more than that.”

 

“Please, Tommy.”

 

“Please? Do you hear this Kris?” Tommy asked as he looked over Mario’s shoulder, at the man behind him. “Tell me Mario, did Raja say please? Did she beg you to stop? Is that why you punched her in the mouth?”

 

“She…” Mario said quietly as Kris’ hands tightened on his shoulders. “Yes, she begged me to stop.”

 

“And that’s why you hit her?” Tommy said as he took a step forward, and nodded to Kris, who took a single step back.

 

“Yes,” Mario said his voice barely above a whisper.

 

“Well, that makes my decision that much easier, thank you,” Tommy said as he pulled a gun from his holster.

 

“Tommy, please…”

 

“Sorry Mario, you were warned the first time you put your hands on her. I told you what would happen right? What did I say?” Tommy asked as he looked down at the .38 in his hand, then over at Kris who was just observing.

 

“You told me…”

 

“Come on, it’s easy, what did I tell you would happen if you touched my girl again?”

 

“You said if I ever put my hands on her like that again you would put a bullet in my head,” Mario said quickly, his voice shaking.

 

“See Kris, he did hear me,” Tommy said brightly as he waved the gun in Mario’s direction, and took another step forward.

 

“He heard you, but obviously thought you were full of shit,” Kris said softly as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

 

“Well, that’s his own fault,” Tommy said as he raised the gun and pressed the barrel to Mario’s forehead. “You should have listened when I warned you about putting your hands on Raja like that.”

 

“Goodbye Mario,” Kris whispered from behind him as Tommy pulled the trigger.

 

~~~~~~~~~

Monday September 26th 2011 9 am

 

“So basically, I am being paid to break into Ryan’s place and rescue four people?” Raven asked as he watched Tommy pace the floor.

 

“Yes, is that an issue?”

 

“Well, I promised Ryan the next time he crossed my path I’d cut his throat, so there is that,” Adam said as he scooted towards the edge of the chair, watching as Tommy came to a stop and turned to look at him. “If I see him, I won’t hesitate to kill him.”

 

“Look, we just want our people back and I want Ryan’s blood. Whether he dies by my hand or yours is irrelevant. I just want my people back safe, that’s all,” Tommy whispered.

 

“Okay, so here’s the deal. I am not gonna work this alone. I’m bringing someone else in.” Raven said as he pulled his phone from his pocket, keeping his eyes on Tommy.

 

Running a hand through his hair, Tommy sat in his chair and looked across the desk at Raven, “I thought you worked alone.”

 

“I usually do, but in this case I want to bring someone in to help out.  With the lives of four people at stake, I want the backup.”

 

“Okay, can you trust him?”

 

“I trust him with my life, and that’s saying something,” Raven said as he raised his phone to his ear. “Cowboy, I think you’re gonna want in on this.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday September 26th 2011 12pm Allen House

 

Looking around the room, Kris sighed. He hadn’t changed anything since the day David died, his clothes were still in the closet, his glasses were sitting on the bedside table with his book. Kris hadn’t been able to move anything, because that would make it real. He knew it wasn’t normal, it had been nearly three years since David died, and still it was like Kris was still waiting for him to walk in the door. Sitting on the bed, Kris looked at his hands and sighed again.  “Damn it David, why am I still like this?”

 

“Still like what, baby?” a voice he hadn’t heard for three years said from the doorway.

 

Whipping his head up, Kris felt his world tilt on its axis.  “David? But, you’re… Oh my god… are you real?”

 

Not saying a word, David crossed the room and dropped to his knees in front of Kris. Taking Kris’ hands in his, he rubbed his thumbs over Kris’ knuckles and pressed a kiss to each one slowly. “I’m here baby, I’m always here with you.”

 

“David, you promised you’d never leave me. Why did you die?” Kris asked softly as tears fell from his chin. “Why did you leave me all alone?”

 

“I didn’t want to. But it’s not forever, you’ll see me again,” David said softly as he pressed a kiss to Kris’ forehead. “Just don’t hate me when you do, please.”

 

“I could never hate you,” Kris said as he looked up at David and reached a hand out to touch his cheek. “I’m so alone. I miss you so much.”

 

“I didn’t want to, but it was the only way I could keep you safe until Cowell was gone. I’m coming back for you, baby, I promise,” David said as he stood up and walked towards the door.

 

“David, please don’t go!” Kris cried as he stood from the bed and reached out for David’s arm. Turning back, David smiled and winked before he let the door slip shut. “Don’t leave me again!”

 

Kris woke up with a start, tears burning behind his eyes, sobs trapped in his chest. _“Why did you leave me?”_ The damn dream was back, it had been over a year since the last one, and now suddenly it was back, Kris lay back on his bed and pressed his hands to his face.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday September 26th 1pm Seacrest House

 

“Hello Katy.”

 

“Piss off.”

 

“Come on Katy, don’t be like that,” Mayer said as he rounded her chair, tapping his fingers along her arms trying to get her attention. Rolling her eyes, Katy just turned and stared at the wall in front of her. She knew what he was going to do, it was just a matter of turning her mind off to the pain. She barely felt the heat of the torch on her arm.

 

Twenty minutes later, John switched from the torch to his favorite pair of knives. Biting back screams, Katy felt him draw the blades over her skin, cutting, just deep enough to sting and bleed.

 

“Come on Katy, just give me a tear, or even a squeal, and this will end.”

 

“Fuck off,” Katy slurred, her lip spilt from where Mayer had back handed her when she’d laughed at him. She could feel the blood dripping from her nose, as she let her head hang, refusing to cry.

 

Growling angrily, Mayer stormed to the door and wrenched it open. “Get her out of my sight.” He yelled as he stormed out the door.

 

Two large men walked in the room and tugged a smirking Katy to her feet. “Come on, get moving.”

 

Stumbling, Katy kept her eyes on her feet, making sure she kept putting one foot in front of the other. She felt them jerk her to a stop, and shove her through a door. As the door slammed shut behind her she fell to her knees, barely catching herself before she landed on her face.

 

“Katy?!”

 

“Hey Mikey,” Katy said with a laugh. “I’m kinda a mess huh?”

 

“Jesus Christ, what did you say to him?” Mike said as he picked her up and carried her over to where Danny was laying, he was breathing better but still very pale.

 

“I didn’t give him what he wanted,” She whimpered as Mike gently laid her on the floor next to Danny. Her hand automatically slipped into Danny’s squeezing tight. Finally letting the tears fall, she looked over at Danny. “I didn’t cry for him.”

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Monday September 26th 2011 5pm Raja’s Club

 

“So why are we here?” Raven asked Tommy as he pulled the door to the club open.

 

“Raja is one of my best friends, she’ll tell me if you’re worth the money I’m paying you to get my sister back,” Tommy said as he pushed past Raven to get to Raja’s office.

 

“You have a history with her?”

 

“ **That** is none of your business,” Tommy said as he knocked on Raja’s office door.

 

“While Tommy Joe is right, and it is none of your business, Raven, the answer is yes, we have a history, much like you and I,” A soft voice said as the door opened. “Hey baby, come in,” Raja leaned over and kissed Tommy on the cheek, barely glancing at Raven.

 

Following Raja into the office Tommy didn’t look back at Raven, he just focused on Raja and watched her fix them drinks.

 

“So you know Raven?” Tommy asked as she handed him a tumbler of bourbon, and he looked over at Raven who was looking at the pictures on the wall.

 

“Yes, Tommy Joe, I’ve known Raven for nearly ten years,” Raja said as she handed Raven a tumbler and sat on her couch crossing her legs and looking pointedly at Tommy. “Jealous, baby?”

 

“No, darling, I was just curious. I need to know if I can trust him,” Tommy said with a chuckle as he sat next to her and laid a hand on her knee. “Besides we both know that my jealousy was what ruined us.”

 

“That’s the truth, we’re better like this. But the sex was amazing wasn’t it?”

 

Raven watched their interaction silently as he glanced at the pictures lining the office walls. “So, Tommy, am I trust worthy?”

 

“Raja says yes, so  I’m going to go with her on this. I’m going to trust you with this. I need my sister back, and then I need to kill Ryan.”

 

“Well, Cowboy and I plan on scoping Ryan’s place out tonight. If we can get in tonight, we will go in tomorrow and get them out,” Raven said as he rounded the desk and perched on the edge of the chair closest to Tommy. “Depending on what we find out, we may need more people to create a distraction tomorrow.”

 

“Oh, I am pretty sure we can swing that,” Raja said with a smirk as she looked at Tommy.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Club Taboo 2007

 

Tommy walked into his newest acquisition and looked around. He wrinkled his nose as he looked at the interior of the club. _“Holy shit, this is the seediest club I have ever seen.”_   He thought with disgust.

 

An abrupt shift in music brought his attention to the stage. Standing on the stage, one hand on the pole was a statuesque drag queen, caramel colored skin shining with glitter, long legs clad in fishnets, dark eyes rimmed with smoky eye shadow. Leaning an arm on the bar top, Tommy watched as she danced across the stage, carefully stepping around outstretched arms, and dodging grabby hands as she writhed and ground against the pole. The song came to an end and she took a quick bow and began gathering the money from the stage when a hand darted out and grabbed her ankle.

 

“The fuck? Hands off!” she yelled as she kicked out her free foot. Ignoring her, the man grabbed on with both hands and tried to pull her from the stage. “Get off!”

 

“Come on Raja, don’t be a tease,” The man said as he tugged on her ankle.

 

“I believe she said hands off,” Tommy said as he walked up behind the man, keeping his eyes on Raja.

 

“What are you gonna do about it?”

 

Tommy just pulled his .38 out and pressed it to the man’s head, and whispered. “She said hands off, get your hands off.”

 

Letting go of her ankle the man raised both hands and took a step back.

 

“Get out of my club, if I see you in here again I’ll shoot you,” Tommy said as he glared at the man, who was scrambling for the door.

 

“Oh, so you’re the new owner? I’m Raja,” she said softly extending a manicured hand to Tommy.

 

Tucking his gun back in the holster, he took her hand. “Tommy Joe, can I get you a drink?”

 

Smiling she nodded, and stepped off the stage.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Candles flickered along the walls, the scent of roses lingered in the air, pale hands slid along tan skin. Hitching Tommy’s leg higher, Sutan leaned in and sucked a mark just below his collar bone.

 

 _“Come on baby, come on,”_ Sutan whispered as he rocked further inside Tommy until their hips were flush.

 

Throwing his head back, Tommy bared his throat, biting his lip, he moaned as he slid his hands along Sutan’s back. _“more, harder, please.”_

 

Leaning down, Sutan captured Tommy’s moans with his mouth; soon the only sounds were moans and the slick sounds of them moving together.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Seriously Tommy, jealousy and guns are a bad combo,” Raja said as she sipped her drink, watching Tommy glare at the quickly retreating man.

 

“Why was he touching you?” Tommy growled as he turned to face Raja.

 

“Oh for fuck’s sake! He gave me a hug, he didn’t put his hands in my panties!” Raja said exasperated as she set her glass on the counter and stared at Tommy.

 

“God, I’m sorry. I was a dick,” Tommy said as he ran a finger around the rim of his glass. “I have a jealousy issue.”

 

“Really baby? I didn’t notice,” Raja said sarcasm dripping from her words.

 

“Okay, maybe this thing between us isn’t quite working out,” Tommy said softly as he looked up at her.

 

“I agree, baby. We’re better off as friends. Besides I was having a crisis dating a man who was prettier than me, especially one that doesn’t even wear makeup,” Raja giggled, filling up Tommy’s glass.

 

“Yeah, but I get to question all your potential boyfriends,” Tommy said with a nod as he took a drink.

 

“Oh alright,” She said feigning exasperation. “But I get to do the same to yours.”

 

~~~~~~~~~

Monday September 26th 2011 Outside Ryan’s house

 

“Alright, let’s try the back door,” Cowboy said softly as he looked over at Raven. “Hey, you alright?”

 

“Huh?” Raven said as he blinked and looked over at Cowboy. “Yeah, I’m fine, just had a bit of a memory flash. God I hate this house.”

 

“You’re gonna be okay to do this right?”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go,” Raven said as he moved toward the backdoor.

 

Shaking his head, Cowboy followed Raven closely, softly shutting the door behind them. Slowly moving through the hallways they followed the sounds of talking. Looking back at Cowboy, Raven pointed to a room and put his hand on the knob.

 

Turning the knob slowly, Raven pushed the door open and stopped suddenly, causing Cowboy to slam into his back.

 

“Hey, Raven? You okay?”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

2006

 

“Bradley, I told you that you could never leave me and yet you still tried.”

 

“Ryan, I… please let Adam go,” the small brown eyed man wheezed as blood dripped from his mouth. “Please, he didn’t know.”

 

“Bradley, Bradley, Bradley. You were warned, weren’t you? I promised that if you ever left me I’d hunt you down and yet you did it anyway and ended up with him?” Ryan sneered as he looked over at the ginger haired man, struggling against the handcuffs and gag. “Now say goodbye, Bradley.”

 

“Please, Ryan, let Adam go! He didn’t know! Please!” Brad sobbed as he pulled against the handcuffs. He looked over at Adam, his brown eyes red rimmed, blood dripping from his chin. “I’m so sorry, Adam.”

 

Adam just shook his head, tears streaming down his face. Screaming against the gag, Adam watched as Ryan walked behind Brad, kissed his cheek and slit his throat.

 

“Take care of him, Markus,” Ryan said as he dropped the knife in Brad’s lap and walked out the door without another look.

 

Pulling out a gun, Markus pointed it at Adam’s chest and pulled the trigger.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday September 26th 2011 Outside Ryan’s house

 

“Raven! Hey!! Breathe, come on,” Cowboy said as they sat in his car. It took everything he had to get Raven out of the house without alerting any of Ryan’s guards. Shaking Raven, he’d finally slapped him, one hard slap and Raven looked over at him.

 

“FUCK! I totally lost it didn’t I?” Raven asked as he rubbed absently at the scar on his chest.

 

“What the fuck happened?”

 

“I… fuck… Ryan killed my boyfriend in that room…”

 

“Are you gonna be okay to do this job?” Cowboy asked as he pulled the car onto the road, glancing quickly at Raven before focusing back on the road.

 

“Yeah I’ll be fine. It won’t be an issue,” Raven said as he ran a hand through his hair. “Take me to Tommy’s.”

 

“Okay, you sure you’re alright?”

 

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

 

Nodding, Cowboy made the turn towards Tommy’s house. He didn’t believe Raven was okay, but there was really nothing he could do at this point. Besides, he had other things on his mind, like how he was going to see Kris, and whether or not he would end up shot.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

Monday September 26th 2011, 9 pm, Kris’ Office

 

Kris stood at the large window in his office staring out at the dark backyard. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he took a deep breath, and turned to the paperwork that seemed to be glaring at him. No matter what was going on, Kris still had businesses to run. Opening the folder in front of him, Kris began pouring over the numbers.

 

It was nearly an hour later, when Kris stood up and stretched his legs. He was refilling his coffee cup and paused when he heard a knock on his office door.

 

“Anoop, please, unless Katy is out there, just leave me alone right now,” Kris said as he turned around and immediately dropped his cup. “David?”

 

“Hi, Kris.”

 

“You… But you’re dead,” Kris whispered as he watched David walk across the room and stop in front of him.

 

“I’m alive…” David said as he reached out a hand to touch Kris’ cheek, catching a tear with his thumb.

 

One shaking hand reached out and touched David’s neck, a startled laugh burst from Kris as he tightened his grip on David’s neck.

 

“You stupid son of a bitch,” Kris breathed as he let his fingers slide over familiar features, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. “You stupid, gorgeous son of a bitch. Why did you leave me?”

 

“I needed you to be safe,” David said as he cupped Kris’ face in his hands. “If Cowell thought I was dead, he wouldn’t expect me coming after him. But after I took care of him, I was afraid to come to you. I was afraid you would hate me.”

 

“Never! I could never hate you. I missed you so much,” Kris said his hands sliding over David’s shoulders, underneath his jacket. He missed this so much, the feel of David under his hands. He just hoped this wasn’t another dream, he knew his heart couldn’t take it. “Can you kiss me? Please?”

 

Leaning down, David pressed his lips against Kris’. Kris sighed, his hands pushing David’s jacket off his shoulders. The jacket slid to the floor and David wrapped his arms around Kris’ waist, pulling him closer, his fingers sliding beneath the waist of Kris’ slacks to find warm skin. Softly, David licked along Kris’ lips, drawing a moan out as Kris let his mouth fall open allowing David to slip his tongue inside. _“God, I missed you so much, baby, I’m never leaving you again.”_  David whispered as Kris tugged him towards the small couch against the wall. When his legs bumped the couch David sat down, pulling Kris with him. Straddling David’s lap, Kris yanked at his tie.

 

“After we get Katy and Julia back, you and I are going to have a serious talk about this, because I am so angry with you right now. But goddamn it I missed you, don’t you ever fucking do that to me again,” Kris growled as he jerked David’s tie over his head and began on the buttons of his shirt.

 

“Never again, I promise,” David said sliding the buttons of Kris’ shirt open, slipping his hands underneath feeling Kris’ skin for the first time in three years.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tommy’s office (Same night)

 

“So what did you find out?” Tommy asked as soon as Raven walked into his office.

 

“We saw what rooms were empty, how many guards he has on and what their rotation is.” Raven said as he stopped in front of Tommy’s desk.

 

“That’s it? Did you see Julia?” Tommy asked frantically, coming around the desk and looking beseechingly up into Raven’s blue eyes.

 

“No, we didn’t see any of them, we could hear voices but didn’t go in search of the source,” Raven said as he took a step back. Tommy was getting a bit too close for Raven’s comfort, the frantic look in his eyes, and the way Tommy was clenching and unclenching his hands made Raven a bit wary.

 

“You didn’t even look?!” Tommy asked, frustration evident in his voice as he grabbed the front of Raven’s jacket and jerked him forward.

 

“Hey,” Raven grabbed Tommy’s hands, trying to pry them off his jacket. “I wasn’t willing to compromise anyone’s life just to check on some voices. You need to take a deep breath and calm down, we will get your sister back, okay?”

 

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down!” Tommy said, finally cracking under all the pressure. The past few days had taken their toll and even Raven could see that he was acting irrationally and out of character.  Letting go of Raven’s jacket with one hand, he punched Raven in the jaw, knocking the larger man back a step, dislodging Tommy’s other hand from his jacket. Glaring at Tommy, Raven grabbed him by the front of his vest and shoved him backwards hard enough that he crashed into the wall. Barreling towards Tommy, Raven trapped him against the wall.

 

“I am going to assume you hit me because you’re frustrated and worried about your sister, that is the **only** reason I haven’t killed you,” Raven hissed through his teeth as he held Tommy against the wall by his throat.

 

He glanced down at Tommy’s lips, watched as Tommy’s tongue poked out to moisten them, his breath coming faster. Raven felt as Tommy unconsciously tilted his hips forward, his head falling back against the wall. Tommy fisted his hands in Raven’s shirt again, pulling him forward suddenly, biting at his lips, his tongue insistently pressing against them.

 

Gasping, Raven let his mouth fall open, Tommy took that as permission and thrust his tongue inside, sliding over his teeth, tracing the ridges across the roof of Raven’s mouth. Tommy’s hips arched forward, pressing against Raven’s, making him groan and press back. Raven pushed against Tommy, the hand he had on histhroat tightening just enough to break them apart. “What are you doing?”

 

“Shut up, just shut up… I don’t want to think,” Tommy whispered, his lips barely brushing Raven’s, his hands twisting in the fabric of Raven’s shirt, tugging him closer, his teeth closing around Raven’s lower lip. “Just…” Tommy gasped out as he rocked against Raven’s hip, “Please…”

 

Raven just stood there, one hand on Tommy’s throat, the other pressed against his lower back, holding him tight as he rutted hard against Raven’s hip and thigh, Tommy’s hands shaking, tears leaking down his cheeks. He talked him through it, “ _It’s okay, come on baby, shhh, don’t cry, it will be okay,”_ holding him close as he shook through his orgasm, hands rubbing his back, his lips soft against his cheek and jaw. “I promise you, we’ll get her back.”

 

Before Tommy could say anything, the office door burst open and Carp stumbled through, his lip bleeding, his face back and blue, one eye so swollen it was surprising he could see. “Tommy… it’s Archie… he’s… they came in… we tried to fight them off… but, oh god… Archie…”

 

Lunging forward, Raven caught Carp as he slumped forward, the adrenaline that carried him from the restaurant to Tommy’s house finally wearing off. Tommy stood against the wall for a moment before rushing towards his desk and hitting the call button on his phone.  “Monte, you and Giraud, get to Archie’s NOW!” Turning to Raven, Tommy rubbed his hand over his face, and glanced down at his pants. “Shit.”

 

“Go, change, I’ll take care of him. Just be quick, I am pretty sure he needs a hospital.”

Nodding, Tommy rushed to the small bathroom in his office, he always had an extra pair of pants, just in case. After changing, Tommy rushed out to see Camilla crouched over Carp.

 

“Isaac? Come on Isaac… don’t you go to sleep,” she said softly as she dabbed at the blood on his face.

 

Glancing at Raven , Tommy walked across the room and crouched next to Camilla.

 

“Hey, has he said anything?”

 

“No, he only says Archie’s name over and over,” Camilla said softly as she continued cleaning the blood from his face. Looking up at Raven, she growled. “Find the son of a bitch that did this… and kill him.”

 

“Raven, I need to go to Archie’s,” Tommy said as he slid his .38 into his hip holster and pulled his blazer over his shoulders, fastening the buttons as he walked to the door.

 

“You’re not going alone,” Raven said as he put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “I have a feeling Ryan is doing this to distract you from your sister. You consider both Carp and Archie your younger brother’s right? He’s using them to get you to drop your guard, if he can take you out, Allen will be that much easier for him to kill. Then he can take over.”

 

“Like hell he will!” A new voice piped up in the hallway.

 

Looking over toward the door Tommy’s knees buckled in recognition. He would have fallen except for the hand Raven had on his shoulder. “Cook? But…”

 

“Yeah, it’s a long story kid, but the gist is, I’m alive,” David said as he pulled Tommy into a one-armed hug.

 

“I see Kris didn’t shoot you,” Raven said with a small smile as he noticed the way Kris was gripping David’s hand like he was going to disappear if Kris let go.

 

“No, but I’m still pissed he did that to me,” Kris said angrily even as he rubbed his thumb over David’s knuckles. “What’s going on?”

 

“We need to get to Archie’s. Isaac just showed up beaten to hell, he said something happened to Archie,” Tommy said as he started down the hallway, grabbing the keys to his Land Rover on the way to the garage. “Kris, call Cale and Anoop, tell them to get their asses over here and help Cam. I sent Monte and Matt out to check on Archie’s.”

 

Nodding, Kris pulled his phone out as they followed Tommy out the door and piled into his car.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Holy shit,” Kris said softly as they stepped through the open door of Archie’s restaurant. The place was a disaster. Broken glass and overturned tables covered every inch of the floor, there was blood across some of the floor, what looked like bullet holes near the broken window. Almost in unison, all of them pulled their weapons as they navigated the maze of chairs and tables.

 

“Arch?” Tommy called as he rounded the counter, his sudden stop and the clatter of his gun hitting the floor told them he’d found Archie. “Oh my god… Archie? Please say something, kid, please!”

 

Coming around the counter, Kris felt his throat close at the sight before him. Archie wasn’t even recognizable, his baby face swollen and bloody, his hands obviously broken, he was breathing, slowly and labored, but he was still alive. Kris felt something inside him snap, he knelt beside Tommy and put a hand on Archie’s shoulder, his other hand rested on Tommy’s shoulder. “Tom?”

 

“He’s hurting my family, Kris,” Tommy said softly as he brushed Archie’s hair from his face. “He’s hurting all of you; I’m going to kill him.”

 

Standing, Tommy picked his gun up off of the floor, and pulled his phone from his pocket, ignoring them, he pushed the call button. “Monte, what do you have? You do? Good, we are on our way, don’t kill him yet, I want a few words first.”

 

Looking at David and Kris, Raven just holstered his gun and knelt next to Archie.

 

“Tom, what’s going on?” Kris asked as Tommy slipped his phone into his pocket and turned back to face them.

 

“Monte got him, it was one of Ryan’s guys. Markus. Monte’s holding him until Giraud gets here so we can go have a talk with him,” Tommy said as he knelt back at Archie’s side, his voice getting softer as he reached out a hand and tenderly touched the one unmarked spot on his face. “I’m going to make this better, I promise.”

 

Rubbing at his chest, Raven looked at Tommy, then at David. “Did you say Markus?”

 

“Yeah, why, you know the guy?” Tommy asked as his grip tightened on his gun.

 

“In a manner of speaking, yeah,” Raven said as he unbuttoned his shirt and exposed the scar just above his heart. “He gave me this. The same day Ryan killed my boyfriend.”

 

Silence met Raven as he buttoned his shirt again and pulled his jacket closed. Stepping closer to Raven, David put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“In that room back at Ryan’s, that’s where it happened?”

 

“Yeah, near the windows, Brad’s back was to the window. Ryan said he could see better that way. Then he killed him, slit his throat, told Markus to ‘take care of him’ and Markus shot me. He took us to some empty lot and dumped us there. Adam died that day. I left him behind with Brad in that lot.” Raven said, staring blankly at the wall, his mind obviously back in that lot, pulling himself up to his feet, stumbling past Brad’s body. Walking until he made it back to his apartment, cleaning the blood from his arm, watching the pink tinged water flow down the drain taking Adam with it. David and Kris were talking to him, but it was Tommy’s hand on his arm that brought him back. Starting, he blinked and looked down at Tommy.

 

“You with us?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Raven said as he patted his gun. Tommy could tell he was reassuring himself, grounding him to the present. Raven looked around and Tommy could tell that he’d noticed Matt and squeezed his arm again.

 

“Matt, take care of Archie. Get him back to the house, Camilla’s there with Isaac, he’s pretty bad too. Anoop and Cale are there with them,” Tommy said as he ran his fingers through Archie’s hair and looked up at Matt. “If anyone but us tries to get in the house, you shoot them, got it?”

 

“Got it, Tommy,” Matt said as he turned to Archie and knelt down. “Come on bro, let’s get you to Cam.”

 

Archie whimpered as Matt scooped him up and carried him to the car.

 

Tommy turned and faced the other men. “Alright, Monte has Markus at one of my empty flats, let’s go,” he said as he turned and walked out the door.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“So… you like… hitting kids?” Monte asked as he punctuated each word with the loud “smack-thump” of his fists connecting with Markus’ torso.

 

Shaking his head, Markus grunted with each punch.

 

“See, I look at it this way,” Monte said as he flexed his hands, stretching the tightening joints. Walking around Markus, Monte nudged him with a foot. “You screwed up, you know you screwed up, You know as well as I do that you are going to die today. You might as well tell me why Ryan sent you to Archie’s.”

 

“Fuck off, Pittman,” Markus growled as he spit on Monte’s feet, glaring up at Monte.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Stalking over to where Markus and Monte were, Tommy stopped and looked at Monte.  “Well?”

 

“He’s not talking, Tommy,” Monte said as he stepped back, allowing Tommy to crouch down and grab Markus by the front of his shirt, hauling him up and pushing him into a chair.

 

“Alright, well, one way or the other he will talk,” Tommy said as he turned to look at Raven. “Raven, did you bring your tools?”

 

“Yeah, I always have them, why?” Raven asked as he stepped forward, glancing from Tommy to Markus, before realization hit him and he smirked. Sending Kris to the car to get his tools, Raven and Monte moved a table next to Markus’ chair. “Where do you want me to start Tommy?”

 

“Start with his hands, fingers first, work your way up to his wrist,” Tommy said as he stepped back and watched as Raven pulled a pair of pliers and what looked like a small ball peen hammer.

 

Nodding Raven looked over at the others. “Who here can hold his arm? He’s gonna start squirming and I can’t hold him.”

 

“I can,” Kris said as he walked over and grabbed Markus’ arm, pinning it to the table, his hand pressing just below Markus’ wrist.

 

“Come on… please!”

 

“Hey Tommy, we got another beggar here,” Kris said with a chuckle, as he pressed his knee against Markus’ thigh and his elbow into his collarbone, effectively immobilizing him. “God, quit fucking squirming. Either way it’s gonna hurt like fuck, just sit still.”

 

Raven went to work quickly, one hand holding the pliers, grasping a finger in them, holding it tight, then bringing the hammer down quick and hard, breaking the finger. Markus choked on his scream, trying to pull out of Kris’ grip. Raven looked over at Tommy, silently asking if he wanted him to continue, Tommy nodded. Turning back to Markus, Raven grabbed another finger holding it tight, he looked at Markus.

 

“Do you have anything you want to say?” Raven asked quietly as he turned the hammer over in his hands.

 

“Fuck you,” Markus rasped as Kris tightened his grip, and pressed his hand harder against the table.

 

Shrugging, Raven tightened the pliers, “Your choice,” and brought the hammer down, breaking another finger. Markus screamed and tried to buck out of Kris’ grip. Tommy walked over and crouched next to Markus.

 

“Just tell me what I want to know, I will make this stop.”

 

“Fuck you.”

 

“ Raven, the knees this time,” Tommy said as he turned and walked back to Monte and David. “Dave, you may want to help hold him down.”

 

Nodding, David walked over and grabbed a hold of Markus’ other side pinning his leg with a hand and a foot on his ankle, keeping it from moving. Raven stepped in front of Markus and looked down at his right knee. Quickly, Raven raised the hammer and brought it down, the sickening crack of it hitting bone followed by Markus’ scream.

 

“Well? Why were you sent to Archie’s?” Tommy asked as he stepped back in front of Markus, his gun in his hand.

 

“Supposed…” Markus gasped, “Supposed to… fuck, Ryan wants you broken Ratliff. The only way to break you is to hurt them.

 

“Why does he want me broken?”

 

“If you’re broken, it’ll be easier to take all of this from Allen,” Markus said as he looked over at Kris, a smirk on his face.

 

“Hmm, interesting, but unfortunately for him, that won’t work, and unfortunately for you,” Tommy said as he raised his gun, pressing the barrel to Markus’ forehead. “You won’t get to see his downfall.”

 

“Goodbye Markus,” Kris whispered as Tommy pulled the trigger.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday September 26th 2011 7 pm Ryan’s House

 

Julia groaned and tried to roll her stiff shoulders, only to remember that she was tied to a chair. Looking to her right she saw Danny and Katy laying side by side with Mike leaning against the wall next to them, dozing off. At her groans, he jolted awake and rushed to her side.

 

“Hey kiddo, how you feeling?” Mike asked as he knelt by her side, his hand sliding through her hair, trying the best he could to comfort her.

 

“I hurt, a lot.”

 

“I know Jules, your brother will be here soon, I’m sure of it,” Mike said as he pressed his forehead against her shoulder, only to be startled away when the door to the room was opened and Ryan walked inside. Standing between Ryan and Julia, Mike just glared at the smaller man.

 

“Look Sarver, I know you are trying to be all noble, but it is in your, and their,” Ryan said gesturing over to Katy and Danny. “best interests if you step out of my way right now.”

 

“Mike, please, just go to them. I’ll be fine,” Julia said as she rested her head against Mike’s hip trying to reassure him.

 

“Julia…” Mike started to say as he looked down at her.

 

“No, Mikey, just do it please, for me,” Julia said as she nudged him with her head, pushing him towards Katy and Danny.

 

Ryan moved behind Julia and untied her hands, jerking her to her feet. “Move it,” he said shoving her towards the door. With one sad smile at Mike, Julia stumbled out the door.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

“Julia, Julia, Julia,” Ryan said as he rounded her, his fingers brushing her hair back, tucking it behind her ear. Leaning in he whispered, “What can I do that will truly break you?”

 

Keeping her shoulders back, Julia refused to let the tears fall, she would not give him the pleasure of watching her break. She suppressed the shudder that rolled through her body as his fingers slid up her arms, slowly making their way to her face, before gripping her jaw hard, forcing her to look at him.

 

“Go to hell.”

 

“Mayer was right, you have a bit of fire in you. It’ll be fun to break you with my own hands,” He said softly as he pushed her into a chair. He looked down at her and smirked as he threaded his fingers through her hair pulling hard, tugging her head backwards. “I’m gonna make you scream.”

 

“I won’t break for you,” Julia whispered as Ryan closed a hand around her throat and squeezed. Gasping, Julia kept her eyes open, watching Ryan as he let go of her hair and walked over to his desk. Her eyes got wide as she saw the small knife he pulled from the desk drawer. “You won’t break me.”

 

“Maybe not,” Ryan said as he shrugged and twirled the knife between his fingers, walking closer. “But, I’m sure as hell gonna have fun trying.”

 

Grabbing the front of her shirt, he ran the knife through the fabric, slicing it from top to bottom. Slowly, he ran the knife over her collarbones, tracing from one side to the other, before applying pressure cutting a clean line along her chest, smirking as she bit back the scream. Over and over, he repeated the action, crisscrossing the cuts, watching the blood spill and pool in her lap.

 

“You know,” Julia gasped, fighting the urge to cry. “When my brother gets here, you’re gonna die, and he will make it painful.”

 

Cocking an eyebrow, Ryan didn’t say a word, just raised his fist and punched her in the mouth.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday September 27th 2011 7pm Raja’s Club

 

“Raja, are you sure?” Tommy asked as he looked over at her.

 

“I’m positive, the last thing I want is for you to go in there and not come out. If we can help you we will,” Raja said as she looked at the girls sitting behind her, who just nodded in agreement. “Just get in there and get them out, okay?”

 

Taking a deep breath Tommy walked over to Raja and grabbed her arms. “You better not do anything stupid, any of you. You get out in one piece, you understand?”

 

“Got it boss,” Raja said with a cheeky wink and a kiss to his mouth. “I promise, we’ll be fine. Besides Carmen is a crack shot, and Manila has these wicked knives she keeps hidden.”

 

“Alright, but please, be safe going in there.”

 

“I promise, Tommy, and I **never** break my promises.”

 

Nodding, Tommy turned and walked out the door and climbed into the car, nodding to Matt, letting him know they could leave.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8 pm Tommy’s office

 

“Tommy, what’s the plan?” Anoop asked as he paced the office, his normally neat cardigan and tie askew and his hair mussed from running his hands through it in frustration.

 

“Well, Raven and David went to Ryan’s last night, I’ll let David tell us what they learned,” Tommy said as he sat on the edge of the couch, close to Raven, but not touching. After the incident last night, Tommy couldn’t stop thinking about him, the way his hands felt, the way his breath ghosted softly against his ear, reassuring him that everything would be okay, that they would get Julia back and she would be alright. Tommy couldn’t afford to be distracted, but he couldn’t get Raven off his mind either.

 

Growling softly, Tommy stood up and stepped away from the couch, pacing the floor as David relayed what they had learned the night before.

 

“Raven and I went in the back door, they don’t have anyone watching it very well, just the random person stepping out the door for a smoke. Right inside the back door is a long hallway, with four rooms branching off, there were voices in the second room to the right. That could be where they are keeping Danny, Mike, Katy and Julia. I say we go in and pull them out as fast and quiet as possible. Do we have a distraction for the front of the house?” David asked as he looked over at Tommy.

 

“Yeah, I talked to Raja, she and a couple of her girls are going to go in as a distraction for us. Raja wouldn’t tell me what her plan was, but I’m positive they’ll be effective,” Tommy said as he walked around the room, looking over the crew as they started talking together and planning out who was paired with who and which group was going in first. He stopped behind Camilla and rested his hand on her arm stopping her from holstering her gun. “Cammie, I need you to stay this time, I need you here with Archie and Isaac.”

 

“Tommy, wait,” Anoop said as he walked over.

 

“What is it, ‘Noop?”

 

“I’ll stay with the boys; I mean I am the doctor in this group right? Not to mention, Cam is a **much** better shot than I am,” Anoop said with a chuckle as he looked at Tommy.

 

“You’re sure?” Tommy asked as he looked between Anoop and Camilla.

 

“I’m a **doctor** Tommy; I’m more comfortable making people better than causing their wounds.”

 

“Alright, ‘Noop get up to the boys, Cammie strap up,”

 

Walking to the door, Anoop stopped and looked back at the room full of his family. “Hey, you guys better take that fucker out, and get back here… **All** of you, I’m serious.”

 

Everyone just nodded no one willing to admit that there was a chance not all of them would come home.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside Ryan’s House

 

“Ready, girls” Raja asked as she straightened her jacket and looked over at Manila and Carmen.

 

“Yep,” Carmen said as she patted her chest, making sure her gun wasn’t showing. “Manila?”

 

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Manila said fixing her shoe and making sure everything was tucked away where it wouldn’t show.

 

“Let’s do this,” Raja said as she started towards the door. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. Waiting for a minute, they started getting nervous. Knocking again, Raja stepped back as they heard a voice yell that someone was coming.

 

Plastering their sultriest faces on, they watched the door open, revealing a young looking man with brown hair and bright green eyes.

 

“Well, hello ladies, is there anything I can help you with?” He asked as he looked them over, focusing on Carmen.

 

Looking at Raja, Carmen smiled and held her hand out. “Actually baby, I think the question is, is there anything I can help **you** with?”

 

“Actually, yes. See I have this problem,” He said as he slipped an arm around Carmen’s waist, not even noticing Manila slip up behind him. The slice across his throat was quick and neat, not even spilling blood on Carmen. Slipping her arms around the body, Raja quickly deposited him on the porch and shut the door.

 

“Nice, Manila, didn’t even get blood on Carmen this time.”

 

“Shit, it was one time bitch, besides, I had no idea the guy was gonna turn like that,” Manila said as she wiped her knife off on a tissue and tucked it back against her thigh.

 

Slowly they made their way through the front of the house, only stopping occasionally to kill. There was only one small hiccup, which was quickly remedied when Raja took out the guy who was silently following them through the house. Coming to the hallway, all three of them stopped as they heard voices, looking over her shoulder, Raja just put her finger to her lips.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Looking over his shoulder, Tommy nodded and they slipped through the back door.

 

“Ok, which door is it?” Tommy whispered to Raven.

 

Pointing at the second door on the right side of the hallway, Raven led the way, stopping in front of the door. Putting his finger to his lips he pressed close, listening to the soft voices inside.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Come on Mikey, please sing it for me?” Katy asked as she sat against the wall, Danny’s head pillowed in her lap, she ran her fingers through his hair.

 

“Katy… why that song?”

 

“Cause it’s the one David used to sing to us when we got scared as kids. I just wanna hear it,” She pouted, batting her eyes at Mike.

 

“Fine, fine. But no complaining that he sang it better. I already know this,” Mike said as he sat in a chair and started singing.

 

Closing her eyes Katy let her head fall against the wall, “We’re gonna get out of here right? I mean, Kris and Tommy are gonna get us… right?”

 

“Hey, Hey, Katy, no crying girl,” Danny whispered as he reached a hand up and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Hey, help me sit up please.”

 

“Danny, are you sure you should be sitting up?” Mike asked as he slipped out of the chair and knelt in front of Danny helping him sit against the wall.

 

“Nope, but it’s better than lying down,” Danny said with a grimace as he leaned against the wall. “Oh and Mike… Dave did sing it better than you.”

 

“Damn right I did,” a voice said as the door popped open.

 

Turning so quickly he fell on his backside, Mike just looked up at David with a shocked look on his face.

 

“David?” Katy said softly as she struggled to her feet. Looking down at Danny and Mike she slowly made her way over to where David was standing, looking up at him she slapped him as hard as she could, before throwing her arms around him. “You son of a bitch!”

 

“Hey, ouch,” David said his voice muffled against her hair. “I’ll explain everything later, but right now…”

 

“Where’s Julia?” Tommy asked as he walked over to where David was, looking at Danny and Mike.

 

“Ryan took her,” Mike said softly, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

 

“Where? What room are they in?” Tommy asked as he turned to Raven, and adjusted the hold on his gun.

 

“The last room on the left,” Mike said softly.

 

“Alright, Raven and I will go in after her, I want the rest of you to get out of here and go back to the house,” Tommy said as he grabbed Raven’s arm and tugged him to a corner, one last look at his family, he smiled sadly. “David, make sure they all get out and home, okay?”

 

“You got it, Tommy. But you better get your ass home too,” David said as he nodded to Mike, who bent down and helped Danny to his feet. David led the way, making sure the hallway was clear before slipping out the door, only to run into Raja, and Manila who were holding up a bleeding Carmen.

 

“What the fuck happened?” Tommy growled as he pushed his way through the door, pulling his jacket off and tucking it over Carmen’s shoulders. “I thought I told you three to be careful!”

 

“We were TJ, until that little fucker with the butterfly knife, never heard the shit coming,” Carmen groaned as Matt scooped her up and held the jacket tight across her shoulders. “But, Manila got the little fucker, didn’t ya?”

 

“Fuck yeah I did,” Manila said as she spun her knife between her fingers, before slipping it back in the sheath strapped to her thigh.

 

“Alright, David get them the fuck out of here,” Tommy said as he and Raven headed down the long hallway in the opposite direction. Turning back one last time he smiled sadly, “Make sure they are safe okay?”

 

“Tom, you’re gonna come back and bring Julia home,” Kris said right before slipping out the door into the dark to join the others.

 

Grabbing Raven’s arm, Tommy led the way down the hall until they reached the last door on the left. They could hear Ryan’s voice through the door.

 

 _“Come on Julia, just a squeal.”_

 _“Fuck you, Ryan.”_

The sound that followed made Tommy growl low in his throat, as he grabbed the door knob and shoved the door open, firing one shot into the ceiling as he rushed into the room.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Looking up at Ryan, Julia smirked. “Told you he was gonna come for me, you are so fucked now.”

 

Pulling his arm back, Ryan landed a hard punch to her face, knocking her head against the back of the chair.

 

“Ryan, get away from my sister. You have an issue with me… deal with me,” Tommy said as he stepped fully into the room, followed closely by Raven, who stayed hovering in the shadows.

 

Raven looked around the room, it seemed like nothing had changed in the years since he’d been stuck in here. Ryan had even kept the chair Brad had died in, Julia was currently sitting in it, bleeding from cuts across her chest. As the blood dripped down to her lap, Raven looked over at Tommy, then at Ryan before stepping into the light. Ryan froze, a look akin to fear crossed his eyes before he straightened up and sneered at Raven.

 

“Hello again, **Adam** ,”

 

“Hello yourself, I think we have some unfinished business,” Raven snarled, crossing the room to stand in front of Ryan, his fists clenched.

 

“Well, it seems Markus is a bad shot, I’ll have to have a talk with him after I finish with you,” Ryan said as he looked Raven up and down, ignoring Tommy and Julia.

 

“Yeah… no you won’t,” Tommy said as he stood up, holding Julia against his side. “I put a bullet in his head.”

 

“You… what?” Ryan asked incredulous.

 

“I told you when Kris and I took this territory, don’t fuck with my family. Not only did you take my sister, you sent your goons after Archie and Isaac, you fucked up big time,” Tommy said as he led Julia towards the door.

 

“You won’t make it far Ratliff, my house is crawling with guards!” Ryan screamed as Raven began crowding him into a corner, a small humorless smile on his face.

 

“Yea, not likely Ryan, we took them out… all of them,” Tommy said as he crossed the threshold of the door before looking back at Raven and nodding. “Goodbye, Ryan.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Well, Ryan, it’s almost like the last five years never happened. I mean look at us, standing in the same room, only this time it’s a fair fight. I’m not tied to a chair and gagged this time,” Raven said as he put a hand on Ryan’s chest and shoved him against the wall. “You never loved Brad, he was just a possession for you. When he tried to leave you, you killed him. You took my best friend, my lover, my **partner** from me, all because you were mad he left you.”

 

“I warned him not to leave me, he knew what would happen,” Ryan gasped out as Raven wrapped his left hand around Ryan’s throat and squeezed, causing Ryan’s face to turn red.

 

“Oh, so it’s Brad’s fault for getting away from a possessive asshole,” Raven said as he nodded like this was exactly the truth.

 

Pulling his hand away from Ryan’s throat, he smirked before bringing his right hand back and punching Ryan in the chest. It only took Ryan a split second to realize that Raven hadn’t punched him. Bringing a shaking hand up to his chest, he looked down at the blood that dripped from the knife in Raven’s hand. Sliding down the wall Ryan gasped for air. Crouching in front of Ryan, Raven smiled. “The day you killed Brad and Adam, you made me. **You** created the man that just killed you.”

 

Gasping for air, Ryan clutched at his chest, panic filled his eyes as the blood filled his lungs, drowning him. Raven watched as the life slowly drained from Ryan’s eyes, just as the blood slowed to a trickle from his chest. Raven walked towards the door, looking back one last time, a tear sliding down his cheek. _“That was for you Brad.”_ Turning away, he walked down the hallway, past the bodies and out the back door where Cale and Monte were waiting for him with some gas cans and a box of matches.

 

“Light it up boys.”

 

A bright ball of fire filled the sky as they drove off.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Epilogue

3 weeks later

 

Tommy looked down at the tumbler of whiskey in his hand and sighed. He didn’t really expect to hear from Raven after Ryan was taken care of. But he would have liked to. Raven intrigued him like no one had before.  Draining his glass, Tommy stood to refill it when there was a soft knock on his bedroom door.  

 

“Come in.”

 

“Hey, Tommy,” a familiar voice said as the door snicked shut.

 

Warmth curled in his belly as he turned to look at the man who has just walked in his door. Pursing his lips, he walked back over to the large chair in front of the fireplace and sat down, gesturing to the chair across from his. “Sit.”

 

“Your sister let me in. She’s doing well, how are the others?”

 

“They’re good. Why are you here Raven?” Tommy asked, rolling the glass between his hands. Looking up he saw Raven watching him.

 

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Raven said as he moved to kneel in front of Tommy’s chair, his hands resting on Tommy’s knees, rubbing over the silky material of his pajama bottoms. “Despite everything we were doing at the time, all I could think about was getting my hands under your clothes, my lips on yours again.”

 

Tommy reached out a hand and ran it through Raven’s hair. Raven leaned into it, closing his eyes, he turned and pressed a kiss to Tommy’s hand. Standing Tommy pulled Raven to his feet, and tugged at his tie.

 

“You waited three weeks…” Tommy said as he pulled Raven towards the bed, tugging Raven’s tie over his head, and pushed his jacket down his arms, before reaching for Raven’s belt.

 

“Whoa, slow down, we have all night,” Raven whispered against Tommy’s mouth, sliding his hands over the soft skin of Tommy’s back until he reached the waist of Tommy’s sleep pants. He pushed them down so he could cup Tommy’s ass, letting his fingers ghost along the crack, making Tommy shiver and pull him closer. “Wanted to do this from the moment I saw you.”

 

“Take them off,” Tommy grunted as he pulled at Raven’s belt, tugging his shirt out of his pants and slipping the buttons open, pushing the shirt from his shoulders and pressing his lips to the scar on Raven’s chest. His fingers slipping over the soft skin of Raven’s side, dragging through the light hair on his chest, he flicked his thumb over a nipple and watched Raven shudder and grind against him.

 

 Raven stepped back and pulled his belt open, popped the button on his slacks and let them drop to the floor where they pooled at his feet. Stepping out of his shoes and socks, he slid up the bed in his briefs pulling Tommy with him. Crawling over Raven, Tommy straddled his hips grinding down. “You’re still wearing clothes.”

 

Chuckling, Raven pushed Tommy off his hips and slipped his briefs off before settling over Tommy, bracing himself on his elbows. Leaning down, Raven lightly licked at Tommy’s mouth, working his lips over Tommy’s jaw, and down his neck.

 

“Tommy, where…”

 

“Drawer…” Tommy said softly as he pointed towards the bedside table. Pulling the drawer open Raven grabbed the lube and a condom, before resettling over Tommy and taking his lips, sliding his tongue inside Tommy’s mouth tracing the roof and the back of his teeth. Hands slid over Tommy’s thighs, pushing them apart, letting his hand slide between Tommy’s cheeks, rubbing over his hole.

 

 “Oh god… please,” Tommy breathed out.

 

“Shhhh, just relax,” Raven said as he flipped the top of the lube open and poured some on his fingers. Slipping his fingers down he pressed in slowly with one, feeling Tommy clench around him, he slowly moved his finger in and out, catching all the soft sounds pouring from Tommy’s mouth with his own. Sliding in another finger, Raven twisted them, curling them as he withdrew them, kissing his way down Tommy’s chest, feeling the muscles twitch under his lips. “One more finger baby, okay?”

 

Just nodding, Tommy pulled his lower lip between his teeth as Raven slipped in a third finger. Kissing the inside of Tommy’s thighs, Raven sucked up a mark before sliding his fingers out and grabbing a condom. Rolling it on, Raven leaned up and pressed his lips to Tommy’s as he lined up and slowly started pushing inside. Arching his back, Tommy grasped at Raven’s shoulders as Raven bottomed out, pressed snug against Tommy, waiting for him to adjust.

 

“I’m okay, move,” Tommy gasped as he tried to buck up against Raven. Sliding out, Raven pushed back in, driving the breath from Tommy. “F… god yes… do that again.”

 

Over and over, Raven drove into Tommy, his fingers tight around Tommy’s pale thighs. Sliding a hand down, Tommy wrapped his fingers around his cock, he started jerking with each thrust of Raven’s hips.

 

“Harder… please.”

 

Throwing Tommy’s legs over his shoulder, Raven pounded in harder, driving grunts from Tommy’s lips. Tommy stripped his cock faster, his other hand coming down to roll his balls, tugging on the sack. “God, so close,” Tommy moaned as he suddenly arched up and came over his fingers. Reaching a shaking hand out he touched Raven’s chest, moved it up to grasp his neck, letting his legs slip down he tugged Raven close for a kiss.

 

Letting Tommy’s legs wrap around his waist, Raven cupped his face and pressed their lips together. Pressing in and pulling back out, Raven could feel his orgasm coiling low in his spine, speeding up his thrusts he leaned in and bit down on Tommy’s shoulder as he came, shuddering through the aftershocks.

 

Running his hands over Raven’s back, Tommy pressed a kiss to Raven’s shoulder. “Gotta clean up, baby,” Tommy said softly.

 

“Okay,” Raven said as he carefully slipped out of Tommy and tied off the condom, before tossing it towards the small trash can next to the bed. He grabbed the small package of wet wipes on the night stand and wiped off Tommy’s belly and thighs. Rolling over, Raven pulled Tommy close and pressed his lips to the back of Tommy’s neck. “Should we talk about this?”

 

“I guess we should,” Tommy said as he rolled back over to face Raven. “Okay, talk.”

 

“I guess I just want to know what this is going to be between us,” Raven said as he ran his hands through Tommy’s hair, watching as the strands feathered through his fingers.

 

“It can be whatever we want it to be, that’s the beauty of it. We can keep it like this, just amazing sex or we can actually make it something good,” Tommy said as he leaned into Raven’s hand and closed his eyes. “If we work it right, we can be amazing. I want us to be amazing.”

 

Smiling, Raven looked down into brown eyes and nodded. “Yes, we will be amazing together.”

 

Curling into Raven’s chest, Tommy sighed and pressed a kiss right above his heart.

 

Raven closed his eyes and whispered. “You can call me Adam.”

 

“Good night Adam.”

 

 

 

 

 

[](http://s783.photobucket.com/albums/yy115/Valress/?action=view&current=289231652.jpg)

 

 


End file.
